Millions of Americans who have used new obesity drugs like Wegovy to lose weight and improve health are wondering what happens if they stop taking the

So you've lost weight using Wegovy. Does that mean you can stop taking it?

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2024-05-06 21:30:04

Millions of Americans who have used new obesity drugs like Wegovy to lose weight and improve health are wondering what happens if they stop taking them

Millions of Americans who have dropped pounds and boosted their health using popular obesity drugs like Wegovy are facing a new dilemma: What happens if they stop taking them?

Many worry that they’ll regain weight and revert to old habits. In studies, people who paused the drugs put back on most of the weight they lost.

But others are gambling on a do-it-yourself strategy to ease off the drugs and stay slim by stretching out doses, taking the medication intermittently or stopping and starting again only if needed.

More than 3 million prescriptions for the new medications are dispensed each month in the U.S., according to 2023 data from the health technology company IQVIA. They include semaglutide, the drug in Ozempic and Wegovy, and tirzepatide, the drug in Mounjaro and Zepbound.

But many people don’t stick with it. One study published in the journal Obesity found that just 40% of patients who filled a prescription for Wegovy in 2021 or 2022 were still taking it a year later.